One in the Same
by GetLostInTheMusic
Summary: Melanie always knew she was different. But she was not prepared to be a witch. What happens when she is thrown into Hogwarts and reconnects with her mysterious family. Set during Order of the Phoenix. Harry/Ginny Melanie/Some Mysterious Person
1. Chapter 1

Melanie always knew she was different. There was no denying it. Strange occurrences always seemed to happen around her. They got worse as she got older. Every time she would have one of her "accidents" her father would pack everything up and they would move again. Melanie truly loved her father but knew he was hiding something. Her mother died when she was 1 in a car accident back in England where she was born. Now they travel across America city to city.

One day while walking home from school, Melanie felt a large presence walking be hind her. She whipped around and say the figure of a large man stumbling into an alley. Curiously, Melanie approached the man taking her emergency pepper spray from her bag.

"Who are you?" She yelled, her voice booming off the alley walls.

"Rubius Hagrid," he mumbled, " and you are Melanie Strout."

"How do you know my name,"Melanie asked her voice shaking.

"I was sent her to get you," he replied.

"Who sent you?"

"Professor Dumbledore of course"

"Bumdelore? What kind of name is that?" she snickered.

"You've never heard of Professor Dumbledore. Greatest headmaster Hogwarts School of Witch craft and Wizardry has ever had!" he said pridefully.

"Did you say 'witchcraft and wizardry'?"

"Of course I did, why wouldn't I. Best school there is. Your mother went through there. One mighty fine witch she was. Second best in her class only to... Well you know," he glanced up at her confused and alarmed face and realized, "Oh, you don't know."

"Know what?" Melanie now said cautiously.

"You're a witch Melanie." He stated simply.

"No, I can't be," she muttered in shock.

"Your mother was a very powerful witch, her sister too. It was such a shame that your father has kept this from you. I must speak with him at once."

"Yeah I can see that conversation going great, ' hey dad here's this crazy man that says he knew mom. Also he says that I'm a witch, so I thought I would bring him home to you' he would take that very well I think," her sarcasm was lost on the man, if you could call him that.

"Hurry up then, we haven't got time to waste we must get you to Hogwarts as soon as possible. Danger is on its way." he said hobbling down the street towards my house.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello all! I meant to post this over a weekend but I got invited to go bowling with friends, which but the way I am terrible at bowling. Thank you for those who reviewed the first chapter (cc4s), and please read and review! Also, you may have noticed that the first chapter was in third person and this is in first that was on purpose. I did it that way to kind of get an overview at first but now you get inside Melanie's head. I apologize for Hagrid if he seems kind of OOC. I'm having a harder time writing him than I thought. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything to do with it. I a merely a humble subject to our magnificent queen J.K. Rowling.**

Chapter 2

I briskly walked back to my house every couple of steps glancing back over my shoulder to see Hagrid stubbing behind me. _Maybe this is all just a crazy dream_ I thought _and I a couple of minutes I will just wake up_. I arrived at my house and just stared at the door till Hagrid nudged me to go in.

"Dad?" I hesitantly called out.

"Yes sweetie," a voice drifted from somewhere in the house.

"Can you come here for a minute? There this guy, I think he's a guy, that says his name is Ha-" I started.

"Oh no. It's time." My dad gasped walking into the room.

"I'm afraid so." Hagrid replied solemnly.

"Wait, you two know each other?" I questioned.

"Sweetie, there is something I need to talk to you about," my dad started. "You see I have not been that honest with you. I meet Hagrid years ago about the same time you were born. Your mother and I met when she was 16 and we were both on family vacations. She was truly special and went on to become on of my best friends. She shared all of her secrets with me, even ones she had never told anyone else. The most shocking one came when we were 20. She called me up one night to meet her at her flat in London where she was living at the time. This was the night that she first told me she was pregnant with you-" _I gasp_ " but that wasn't the biggest secret. She also told me that she was a witch." _I gasp again " _She told me about her family and how one of her two sisters was also a witch and they went to the same school while her other sister shunned and detested them. She told me about her sister that was also a witch, that had just found out she was pregnant too. She told me about the war happening in the wizarding world and how it was not safe for her or for you. That night she called me there to ask if anything would happen to her or her husband that I would take care of you-" _I gasp_ " Will you quit gasping! Now back to the story, of course I told her that everything would be ok and that she needn't worry. However, she was relentless and I agreed. A little over a year later I woke up one morning with you on my doorstep. Immediately I knew what had happened and so I took you in and raised you as my own." He concluded.

"So what you are telling me is that my mom was a witch, she had one sister who was a witch and one that was not, I have a cousin somewhere, both my mom and her husband died, you are not really my father, and that I am a witch?" I asked in disbelief.

" Yes."

"Well this is quite a shock. Why then haven't I ever met my mom's family?"

" Lily, the sister who was a witch, and her husband James were both killed Voldemort, only their son Harry survived," I noticed Hagrid cringed at the strange name, "as for her other sister, Petunia, I was told never to bring you to her. She is a nasty, prejudice, and vial woman. You wouldn't to meet her." At this Hagrid was nodding in agreement, obviously they had meet.

"Who is my real dad then?"

"Can't say," my 'dad 'replied, "never met him and your mother never told me his name. I assumed he had died to when you were sent to me."

"So I lost both parents, my aunt, and uncle to this 'Voldemort' thingy. Well then where is this cousin of mine?"

"Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry," this time Hagrid spoke up.

"Is that one of the reasons you want me to go there?" I asked.

"Yes and no," my 'dad' replied. "A few weeks after you were sent to me Hagrid brought me this letter partially explaining what happened. Your mother had been murdered shortly before her sister. The letter also explained that this so called Dark Lord had perished that night. My instructions were to get you as far away from London as I could, that is why we moved to the U.S. Also, you would not know about any of this unless there was another major threat in the wizarding world. That is as much as I know."

"What he says is true, I knew you mother, aunt, and uncle quite well. We suffered such a terrible loss that day. I personally came to take Harry to school, just the same as I am doing now. " Hagrid said.

"I guess since that I really don't have any say in the matter," my 'dad' and Hagrid both shook their heads 'no', " I'm going to Hogwarts."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello! So sorry for not updating. I've been busy with school and a Nutcracker show I am in. My teachers don't seem to realize that people have a life outside of school. In the past 2 weeks I have had 5 unit tests and 8 quizzes. On a happy note I went to an amazing concert on Tuesday and got to meet the Killers and Passion Pit! It was amazing!**

**To make up for the late posting a long chapter for you. 1,169 words! My longest chapter ever! Also, I am looking for a beta for either of my stories. If you are at all interested please PM me. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I sadly do not own the writes to Harry Potter. All rights belong to J.K. Rowling. **

It took a week for me to gather all that I was planning on bringing with me and to arrange to go to Hogwarts. The cover story was that my dad was being transferred to London and I got accepted into a prestigious boarding school. This was mostly true. My 'dad', I still called him that he was the only father I knew, was planning on moving to London to be closer to me.

According to Hagrid, I was way behind in my plans for attending Hogwarts. I was the age of a "Fifth Year" but I had had the abilities of a "First Year". I was to receive private tutoring from a Professor McGonagall. The plan was to get me through my OWL's, what ever they were, so I could continue into sixth year with people my age. The term had already started so my arrival would be even stranger. I would be leaving that Saturday. Hagrid was planning on taking me through the Floo network, some type of transport through fireplaces, to meet with the Headmaster. There I would be assed on my natural ability and sorted. This all sounded well and good but I had no idea what the majority of this meant. Professor McGonagall wrote to me trying to further explain the process. She said that my cousin would be able to help me adjust since he had been in a similar situation.

Saturday arrived and I was petrified. Everything I thought I knew had been shattered and I was about to venture into a whole new world, literally. I hugged my father goodbye. We planned to write often and go home for winter break, which was only a month and a half a way. Hagrid arrived at 9 o'clock sharp. He would go first taking all of mu belongings and I would follow soon after. He took some powder from a small pouch and threw it into the fireplace. Immediately the flames turned a vibrant green. Next, he stepped into the flames and shouted "Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry, Professor Dumbledore's office!" In an instant, he was gone and it was my turn. Reluctantly I stepped into the flames scared that they would burn me and blew one last kiss to my father. I repeated the same words as Hagrid with much less confidence and soon found myself falling far first onto a hard surface. I looked up to see a large room filled with all sorts of assorted books, bottles, trophies, and other knick-knacks. There were paintings lining the walls. Upon closer inspection, I realized that the people in the paintings were moving about and conversing with on another.

"Welcome! You must be Miss Strout, what a pleasure to meet you," an elderly man called from across the office. He was dressed in strange robes and had a long grey beard. He reminded me of Santa but skinner. From the descriptions, I had heard I assumed that this was Professor Dumbledore.

"Thank you Professor. It is a pleasure to meet you too," he said kindly. From here, he went babbling on about how things work at Hogwarts and other various things about the Wizarding world. After who knows how long I lost focus and started studding various things in the room.

"I can see that your thoughts have drifted elsewhere," he said bring my attention back. "Feel free to head to Professor McGonagall's office so you can be sorted, though I have my ideas already."

"Thank you Professor," I said as I followed Hagrid out of the room. I continued to follow Hagrid as I got to see more of the castles. There were moving pictures, moving staircases, students rushing around between classes, and I am pretty sure I saw a couple of ghosts go by. Upon reaching Professor McGonagall's office, I was very anxious.

"Welcome, Miss Strout. My name is Professor McGonagall, I had the pleasure of teaching both your mother, Aunt, and now cousin. They are all very talented and I have high expectations of you."

"Thank you Professor," I said sheepishly.

"Now time for the sorting. I will place the Sorting Hat upon your head and it will assign you to one of the four houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw. Which ever one you are assigned will become your family. Best of luck!" she said placing the hat onto my head.

I sat there for a minute before I heard a voice inside my head. _Interesting. Very bright but would not fit in Ravenclaw, kind but too strong of a personality, Slytherin a possibility. Sly and cunning you are not to mention your father's heritage. Or there is Gryffindor. Bravery, strength, and loyalty make you a strong contender. It will be….Gryffindor!_

The last part was said aloud by the happy. I received a polite clap from McGonagall and a thundering clap from Hagrid.

"Welcome to Gryffindor! As your head of house, I will be in charge of your schedules, discipline, and anything else you will need. As it is almost dinner time, Hagrid can escort you to the Great Hall where you can meet your house. Congratulations!" McGonagall said.

"This way Melanie," Hagrid said once again leading me out of the room towards the Great Hall.

"Hagrid!" I heard a voice call out behind me. I turn around to see two boys and a girl about my age. The girl had big bushy hair and an equally big book in her hand, one boy had carrot red hair and was stuffing a piece of food into his mouth, and then there was a another boy with dark raven hair and vibrant green eyes. The same shade of green that I had seen in the few pictures of my mother.

"Harry, Ron, Hermione!" Hagrid shouted. "Boy I've got a surprise for ye Harry!"

"Not another fruitcake Hagrid," the boy with raven hair complained confirming my suspicions.

"Nope, meet Melanie," Hagrid said beaming. I took this as my cue and stepped forward,

"Hi my name is Melanie Strout, at least that's what I've gone by. I guess I could go by Dursely since that was my mom's name and I have no idea who my father is…"

"Wait!" He said cutting me off, "you said your mom's last name was Dursley."

"oops! I guess I skipped over that part. Yes, my mother's name was Dursley. I'm your cousin," the look on his face was of utter confusion. "Yes I know it's a shock . Trust me I know. You think life is going good then you find out that your dad isn't really your dad, your mom was a witch, you're a witch, you have a cousin, and you have to give up your life to go some wizard school in England."

"So… you're my cousin," he said skeptically.

"Yes I am."

"My mom had another sister."

"Yup."

"You're going here now."

"Uh-huh."

"Well then, welcome to the family."

"Aww thanks!" I said pulling him into an awkward hug.


End file.
